TOKYO (Reuters) - Candidates backed by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling bloc won two key governor elections on Sunday, setting the stage for him to push on with divisive policies to boost defense and restart nuclear reactors shut after the 2011 Fukushima disaster.

Incumbents backed by Abe's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and smaller coalition partner Komeito defeated opposition rivals in the northern prefecture of Hokkaido and in Oita in the south.